Last Updated on September 13, 2026
4×4 Raised Bed Garden Layout: 16 Squares, 8 Crops, With a Plan
A 4×4 raised bed is 16 square feet, and this layout fills it with eight crops: one tomato on a 2×2 block against the north edge, two peppers, two squares of lettuce, two of carrots, two of beets, two of spinach, one basil and one square of bush beans. That is 1 tomato, 2 peppers, 8 lettuce, 32 carrots, 18 beets, 18 spinach, 1 basil and 9 bean plants from one small bed.
What goes in each square
| Crop | Squares | Per square | Plants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato | 4 | 1 per 4 squares | 1, staked or caged |
| Pepper | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Lettuce | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Carrots | 2 | 16 | 32 |
| Beets | 2 | 9 | 18 |
| Spinach | 2 | 9 | 18 |
| Basil | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Beans | 1 | 9 | 9 |
Every number comes from the square foot gardening chart; the linked crop pages show the planting pattern for each square.
Why the crops sit where they do
The tomato takes the back corner because it is the tallest thing in the bed and it climbs; on the north edge it shades nothing but the path. The peppers sit beside it on the south side of the block where they get the full day of sun. The greens and roots fill the rest in pairs of squares, which is the smallest amount of any one crop that is worth the seed packet. Basil goes next to the tomatoes because I pick them together for the kitchen, not for any effect on the plants.
One 4×4 bed is a salad-and-sauce bed. It will not feed a family, but it will teach you the square foot method in one season, and everything in it is easy.
When to plant them, counted from your last frost
These are the windows the Plan My Garden planner uses for every crop in this bed, in weeks from your average last spring frost. Put your date into the seed starting calendar to turn them into dates, or let the planner do it from your zip code.
| Crop | Start indoors | Transplant out | Direct sow | Days to maturity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato | 5 to 3 weeks before | 2 to 3 weeks after | n/a | 80 |
| Pepper | 6 weeks before | 2 to 3 weeks after | n/a | 75 |
| Lettuce | 8 to 6 weeks before | 4 to 3 weeks before | n/a | 45 |
| Carrots | n/a | n/a | 3 to 2 weeks before | 70 |
| Beets | n/a | n/a | 8 weeks before to 4 weeks after | 55 |
| Spinach | n/a | n/a | 8 to 1 weeks before | 40 |
| Basil | 5 to 4 weeks before | 3 weeks after | n/a | 60 |
| Beans | n/a | n/a | 1 to 3 weeks after | 60 |
Make it your own
Swap the beans for a second basil if you cook Italian, or trade the tomato block for four squares of cucumbers on a trellis if you would rather pickle than can. If you want more of one thing, take it from the spinach and lettuce, which bolt in July anyway and can be replanted in August for fall.
Open this exact plan to see the layout and crop list in the planner, then start your own for free: enter your zip code, draw your bed, pick your crops, and it lays out the squares and gives you the dates.
Where I get seed
Most of what is in this bed I grow from Wood Prairie Family Farm, a certified organic seed farm in Maine. Code PMG5 takes 5% off. Buying through that link supports this site at no cost to you.
Quick questions
How many plants fit in a 4×4 raised bed?
With square foot spacing, 16 squares hold anywhere from 16 large plants to 256 carrots. This mixed layout holds 1 tomato, 2 peppers, 8 lettuce, 32 carrots, 18 beets, 18 spinach, 1 basil and 9 beans, which is 89 plants.
How deep should a 4×4 raised bed be?
Ten to twelve inches of soil is enough for everything in this plan; carrots want the full twelve so they grow straight. The soil calculator on this site tells you how many bags that is.
What should I not plant in a 4×4 bed?
Anything that needs four squares per plant, like zucchini, winter squash or melons, unless it is the only thing in the bed. Corn wants a block bigger than 4×4 to pollinate. Keep those for a second bed or a 4×8.
